


Sowing Sunlight in the Garden of Persephone

by White Aster (white_aster)



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: F/M, Forced Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-11-20
Updated: 2006-11-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 08:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1641239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/white_aster/pseuds/White%20Aster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hecate visits the Underworld.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sowing Sunlight in the Garden of Persephone

**Author's Note:**

> The Great Wiki states that in some myths Hecate is a daughter of Demeter, so I took that idea and ran with it.
> 
> Written for Kalloway.

 

 

Getting into the Underworld was not the most trivial of tasks. Of course, Hades cared much more about who was trying to get _out_ of his realm rather than who was trying to get in, but there were procedures to be taken care of. Rules to be followed. There was a reason that people buried their dead with coins on their eyes or under their tongues. Charon did not just ferry _anyone_ across the River Styx. The banks were full of moaning shades who were proof of that.

Nonetheless, for one such as she, there were more ways into the realm of the dead than merely the obvious. Several of them bypassed the river and gates entirely, but it would have been rude to enter unannounced by them. Thus, she stepped through the boundaries of space and set foot to the earth just outside the gates.

Cerberus woke at her appearance, his great chains giving a rattle like thunder as his three heads turned to look at her and then bowed low in obeisance. She patted each head fondly as she walked past, her she-dogs nosing at the great beast with wary respect before returning to her side or trotting on ahead.

The gates opened at her touch, swinging wide on silent hinges.

The path under her feet was smooth and wide, and all around her shades faded in and out of existence, streaming past her on their way to their judgment. Still caught up in the memories of their lives and befuddled by the shadow that clung to her as a cloak, they did not notice her.

Long before the three judges' bench could come into sight, she left the road of the dead, following a twist of path visible only to the gods themselves. This path widened, becoming a great thoroughfare, the stones smoothed and shined to be worthy of a deity's feet. It passed through the great dark marble and jewelled cave of wonders that displayed the wealth of the Underworld and eventually spilled the traveller into the courtyard before the palace of Hades.

The guards there bowed low before her, and she strode past, shadow dropping away from her to reveal her long black hair and knowing dark eyes.

Inside, it was but a moment's stroll to the throne room of Hades himself, Lord of the Underworld and all its shadowy inhabitants. The Furies perched on a ledge above his throne, watching all with their hungry eyes, their claws clacking against stone and their wings rustling uneasily. Otherwise the room was empty except for the great Rich One himself. It was easy to see why. His eyes flashed with dark fire, and his strides were like thunder as he paced his hall, clearly in a fury.

"Have I come at a bad time?" she asked mildly.

Hades' head jerked up, clearly surprised. "You!"

She merely raised an eyebrow at him.

He must have realized his discourtesy, as he sighed and rubbed his temple with one hand. "Hecate. I apologize. I am...out of sorts."

"Indeed. One would think a god newly wed would be in much finer...sorts." Hecate's lips quirked, her fingers sliding over the ears of one of her favorite hounds.

Hades scowled at her. It was no secret, after all, how unwilling his bride had been, and from his behavior, Hecate gathered that things had not improved since her last visit to the Underworld. He chose to ignore the gentle taunt, though. "I am not a beast, Hecate. I am not unreasonable. And despite what so many would think, I want her to be happy here." He turned, and Hecate's eyes were drawn to the second--smaller and very empty--throne that stood beside his. "I want to see her smile," he said, gruffly. "All she does is...is cry."

"She is away from all that she has known. A goddess of light and growing things brought...here and then tricked into staying." She held up a hand as Hades looked like he would protest. "It was trickery, Hades, call it no less. You are lucky you became infatuated with a gentle soul. She could be outraged and tumbling this place down around your ears."

Hades harrumphed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Things may be as they are, but this is an unacceptable situation, for both of us. You are her half-sister, are you not? You know her. What might I do to win her?" He threw up his hands with a sigh. "Or at least to begin to win her. Evidently I do not understand women."

Hecate's hound yawned and sat down, leaning against her legs. "Have you tried being kind to her?" Hecate asked dryly.

Hades drew himself up to his full height, offended. "Of course I have! I have heaped her with jewels and trinkets, placed her at my right hand, had her served the finest meals, given her the most noble of servants! She has an entire wing of the palace to do with what she likes--"

Honestly. _Men._ Helpless and without a jot of sense among the lot of them. Hecate sighed. "You truly don't understand women, then. But for my sister's sake, I shall help you. This is what you should do...."

\---------------

Later, Hecate found Persephone in the wing of the palace Hades had mentioned. It truly was glorious, filled with treasures of metals and gems and stone that had never seen the light of day: cunningly worked figurines, great chests of gold and emerald, sculptures of crystal and diamond, furniture of ebony and marble, richly cushioned in velvets and silks. The servants there were all the shades of talented, beautiful women, and the halls were filled with lovely music and the scent of rich foods.

Hecate followed that scent to a chamber where dinner was being served. The servants flitted about the lovely young goddess sitting at the head of the long table, poking at her food dispondently. She looked thinner and paler and altogether more unhappy than Hecate remembered her.

Persephone looked up, and her smile transformed her face like the rising sun. "Sister! Oh, it is so good to see you." She rushed forward to clasp Hecate's hands. "Have you come to see me? How long can you stay?"

Hecate chuckled. "Partially, and for a bit, though I've some errands to attend to, also. I thought that I would come and see how you fared."

Persephone's face fell. "Oh, Hecate, it is terrible here."

"What, is the food not to your liking?" Hecate asked lightly, plucking a pomegranate from the fruit bowl and brandishing it with an ironic lift of her brow.

Persephone looked as if she might cry for a moment, but she finally laughed, helplessly, instead. "Your wit is as cutting as ever." She waved a hand at the fruit, dropping back down into her seat. "They serve them at every meal. I think that he orders them brought, even though I never touch them." Her lips pursed in frustration. "That is part of the problem."

"Pomegranates?" Hecate sat herself to Persephone's left.

" _No._ " Persephone sighed, her hands on her hips. She shook her head. "You take things so lightly. Are you never serious?"

"I am serious in regards to those things that require seriousness," Hecate said evenly. She plucked a choice bit of meat from a plate and bit into it.

"Well, _I_ certainly find that my current state requires quite a bit of seriousness, believe it or not," Persephone answered archly, over the rim of her wine goblet.

Hecate smiled. There. There was the spirit that she'd always tried to cultivate in her gentle sister. It was good to see it not completely snuffed out. She gestured to the fruit bowl. "He probably orders them brought because you evidently liked them enough to break your fast for them. It's the kind of reasoning a man would use."

Persephone lifted a hand to her eyes. "I certainly hope so. The idea that he might be taunting me with my captivity is...unbearable.'

Hecate swallowed and quirked an eyebrow. "He is not such a brute as all that."

"He kidnapped me!" Persephone started indignantly.

"In case you haven't noticed, dear sister, the Olympians and Titans alike have a long, glorious history of abducting their consorts," Hecate pointed out.

"Well, that doesn't mean that it is right! Or that I shouldn't be outraged!"

"True," Hecate allowed, reaching for a chicken leg swimming in fine spices and nibbling at the meat. "All I'm saying is that despite his atrocious courting technique, he appears to truly wish for your happiness, which is more than some could say of their husbands."

"Yes...so I've heard." Persephone looked away. "I...I do not wish to war with him. I may complain, but I know that our...agreement is law, and it makes little sense to make my time here difficult. But...things are so different here, closed in by cold stone. Nothing _grows_ here...." She rubbed warmth into her arms. "And he is so...so distant. So serious. He frightens me, and I don't think he understands why."

Hecate could guarantee that he didn't understand why. "Well, yes, but men are not sensible as women are. I'm afraid that you'll just have to make the most of it. And you never know--"

The air changed, subtly, and Persephone paled. A moment later, Hades' dark presence filled the doorway.

He nodded to Hecate, then turned to his wife. "I apologize for interrupting your visit. I was wondering, however, if you might be so kind as to accompany me. There is...something I wish to show you. It will not take very long."

Persephone rose slowly to her feet. "Of...of course, my lord." She looked over at Hecate, a little pleadingly, but Hecate merely said, "I've a few things to attend to anyway. I will be back a bit later." She gave her sister a meaningful look.

Persephone nodded, taking a deep breath. "Of course. I look forward to it." She walked, head high, to Hades' side and took the hand he offered. She was at entirely the wrong angle to see the slightly worried (yet still dignified) look that Hades gave Hecate over her head.

Hecate just smiled.

She waited for a long moment while the two of them left, licking her fingers. Hades did set a nice table. Then she pulled her shadows back around her and followed at a discreet distance.

Hades led Persephone deeper into her own wing of the castle, through halls and vaults and rooms that seemed to go on forever in a hard, cold glittering of riches. Eventually, though, he opened a door in the wall and led her outside. Hecate slid through after them.

The courtyard was not enormous by any means. Enclosed by the edge of the palace and a low wall, though, it was private and secluded and had a stately view of one of the more scenic stretches of the Lethe. And, most importantly, it was filled with the musky smell of rich, black, freshly-turned earth. Long stretches of it striated the courtyard, with stone paths winding through and between them expectantly.

Hades gestured, and off to the side a large array of seeds, seedlings, mushrooms and plants waited, lined up on tables, in jars or in pots. Every one of them was rare and precious and, most importantly, night-blooming or otherwise able to grow in this darkest of places.

Persephone made a small "oh!" of surprise, stepping towards them automatically and then looking over at Hades hesitantly.

The Lord of the Dead cleared his throat, shifting on his feet in a manner more like an uncertain boy than a god. "I know that this can never replace your garden above. However, I hope that these might bring you happiness."

At Persephone's tentative smile, Hecate's expression softened, and she nodded to herself as she left the two alone. Hopefully, she thought, they could take it from there. If not, they were beyond even Aphrodite's help.

~End

 


End file.
